Practicing Practice
We had a great discussion last night in the Dancing with Life KM group, where basically we acknowledged that in moving toward a life of less suffering, we often have to experience quite a bit more of it. Here’s the passage we discussed (from page 219 of the hardback edition of Dancing with Life, by Phillip Moffitt):
“Walking the Eightfold Path is a humbling undertaking. You will spend a lot of time on various plateaus where nothing seems to be happening in the way of less suffering or more insight.
“Sometimes, as you become more aware of your thoughts and actions, it can actually feel like you are suffering more. When you start to give up behavior that once stimulated, entertained, or distracted you, it can seem as if you’ve made the sacrifice for no good reason.
“Therefore, it is necessary that you learn to love the plateaus. I mean really love them.
“Practicing practice becomes the ground for your journey. Day after day, you find joy, or at least a sense of alignment, by simply practicing each of these eight factors as best you are able. You learn to laugh at the follies of your mind, to stop being self-judging, and to just get back on the path when you have wandered off.”
(image from: Kitty Kahane’s Tarot)